


Crawling Towards the Sun

by stardropdream



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 07:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardropdream/pseuds/stardropdream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fay lands in a world before the rest of his companions, where he's brought into the care of a boy named 'Youou.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crawling Towards the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on LJ June 30, 2008.

The first thing he noticed, in his sleep-deprived mind, was that this world felt peaceful.  He was always rather tuned in with the natural magic of the world, and the magical powers of this world beat and flowed within the earth, like an ancient river.  It was almost soothing, if he hadn’t already developed quite the revulsion for his magic at this point.  The second thing he noticed was that the buzzing familiarity he felt now whenever Kurogane’s blood was near was strangely absent.  That was enough to yank him from his dream.  He woke up with a start, whipping the blankets thrown over him haphazardly aside in a frantic rush, looking around widely. He took in his surroundings in a flash—he was in a cave, the sky was a strange dusty color, suggesting sunrise, and there was a fire towards the center of the cave, where a figure sat.  His eyes locked on hot red eyes and he froze.

 

“You’re awake,” the figure said in a foreign tongue that Fay instantly recognized as Kurogane’s language.  He’d spent enough time in Yasha’s land, with only Kurogane as company for six months, to know enough to get by.  But the fact that he had to strain to understand meant that Mokona was not nearby.  He wasn’t sure what to make of that.

 

“Where am I?” Fay asked.

 

The figure stood and the shadows shifted on his face.  He was young, perhaps slightly younger than Syaoran and Sakura were.  His hair was dirty and spiky, stray pieces of dirt nestled within the black strands.  His face and hands were just as dirty, but even caked beneath the earth Fay would recognize that face, no matter what the age.

 

“Kurogane?”

 

The boy paused and something flashed in his eyes, but he shook his head frantically. “No.  I’m Youou.”

 

“Youou,” Fay said, looking puzzled for a moment.  Something within him buzzed strangely—the vampire within him recognized that blood.  “Where am I, Youou-kun?”

 

“In a cave.”

 

“I’d gathered that much,” Fay said simply.

 

Youou knelt before him, inspecting his face with the hardness and determination Fay was far too used to seeing on an older face.  He was a thin, lanky individual—it was hard for Fay to imagine the Kurogane he knew to ever have looked like this.  But those eyes were far too knowing and far too keen to belong to anyone else but Kurogane.

 

“You fell from the sky while I was fishing,” Youou said firmly.  “And you would have cracked your stupid head open if I hadn’t been able to catch you.”

 

“Then I suppose Youou-kun saved my life,” Fay said quietly, and tried to ignore the irony in that realization. 

 

“You used magic.  You’re from another world,” Youou continued, his red eyes staring straight at Fay.  It was unnerving.  Fay didn’t say anything for a long moment and Youou stood, straightening, and returning to the fire.  “I’m not going to ask about it, but don’t go around hiding it either.”

 

“What makes you think I’d hide it?” Fay asked lightly.

 

Youou gave him a sharp look, but didn’t answer, picking up a stick charred at the end and poking at the simmering fire within a ring of grey stones.  Fay watched him before picking up the recently discarded blanket and folding it lightly. 

 

The cave’s furnishings were rather Spartan.   Save for the blanket, there wasn’t much else.  The fire cast a dim light over the shadows of the cave.  Fay spotted a sword leaning against the wall behind Youou.  He recognized the hilt almost immediately.  Ginryuu, the sword that Kurogane had to hand over to Yuuko so long ago, seemed out of place within the dry walls of the cave.  

 

“Did you see anyone else fall from the sky, Youou-kun?” Fay asked the boy’s profile.

 

He shook his head.  “It was only you.”

 

“Perhaps we were separated again,” Fay said quietly. 

 

“Separated?”

 

“I was traveling with others,” Fay said, and tried not to sound as miserable as he felt.  “But it seems I’ve arrived here before they did.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“I guess they’ll show up soon,” Fay said quietly, and hoped that was true.  He wasn’t sure if he would be able to last six months this time without Kurogane—he needed his blood. 

 

“It can’t be helped,” Youou said with a small shrug.  “Until then…”

 

Fay wanted to hate Youou for how much he reminded him of the Kurogane he knew, but that was unfair to the young man.  He could hate Kurogane as much as he needed to for saving his life and letting him get too close, but he couldn’t hate the soul that Kurogane harbored deep within him and that was reflected in this world’s version of him.

 

“… Is Youou-kun going to let me stay here?” Fay asked quietly, picking up where the boy left off.

 

Youou was quiet for a moment before muttering, “Do what you want.”

 

 

\---

 

 

He spent his days quietly, not really saying much.  And Youou hardly said anything at all.  He would wake up in the morning and go fishing for food.  He’d come back with a row of fish speared onto a makeshift spear the boy must have made in his spare time.  He cooked them slowly, each one skewered on a stick.   Even if he had wanted to eat fish, he wouldn’t have been able to.  He was only hungry for Kurogane’s blood now.

 

Whenever he handed him one, Fay would politely decline.  He didn’t miss the strange look Youou would give him, and Fay knew that Youou was smart.  He must, he reasoned, be associating the lack of food to his magic use.    It was easier that way.

 

After the fish, he would take up his sword and leave.  Fay never followed him, but knew he’d been training when he returned hours later with sweat beginning to dry on his forehead and cuts along his hands from the work he’d done.  Fay offered no sympathy, but Youou didn’t want it.

 

One night, as Fay watched the sun sink down towards the horizon, Youou cooking fish behind him, he wondered how he’d gotten into this situation at all.  He heard footsteps and felt Youou plop down beside him, though the distance between them was evident.

                                                                                         

Fay finally said the thing that’d been on his mind for such a long time.  “Why’d you help me, Youou-kun?”

 

“What kind of asshole doesn’t help and idiot who falls from the sky?” Youou muttered.

 

Fay hummed.  “But there’s another reason, isn’t there?”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“Call it a hunch,” Fay said quietly.  He knew far too well how to read Kurogane.

 

Youou was silent for a long moment, refusing to look at him.  Fay knew it wasn’t a trick of the light when he saw that his cheeks had definitely turned a bit pinker than they had been before.  Fay was patient.  He knew with Kurogane that it was important to wait, and obviously it would be no different for Youou.  Finally, after a long silence, he turned to look at Fay, his red eyes scanning his one blue eye curiously, his eyebrows knitting together and his face taut.

 

“You look…” he trailed off, sputtered a bit, and looked away.

 

“I look what?”

 

“… Like someone I used to know,” he said at last, drawing his knees to his chest.  He looked off towards the dying sun, nestling its way behind trees and the distant horizon.  He was quiet for a long moment before he added.  “He was an idiot… but…”

 

Fay looked away, his one blue eye narrowing as something deep inside his chest did a strange quavering clenching feeling.  He shifted so he was sitting closer beside the young Youou, watching the sunset with him.

 

“What happened to him?”

 

Youou shrugged.   “He disappeared a long time ago.  He ran away, I guess.” Then he added, softly, “he always ran away.”

 

“Is Youou-kun chasing him?”

 

He snorted. “No.  I’m travelling so that I can become stronger.  If I run into that guy… well… then I’ll give him a piece of my mind.  But if I don’t see him ever again…”  Something shifted in his red eyes and Fay tried not to see it.  “Then that’s one less headache I need to worry about.”

 

“Youou-kun must have cared about him a lot.”

 

“Tch, what makes you say that?”

 

“I know someone like Youou,” Fay said cryptically.  “He… well, he’s a lot like you.  Bigger, though.  Louder, too.”

 

“Tch.”

 

“… But kind,” Fay said, as if realizing it for the first time himself.  He blinked.  Youou stared at him, his cheeks pink.  “He’s too kind, sometimes.  Though he doesn’t like to show it.”  He tilted his head to the side and smiled at Youou.  “A lot like Youou-kun.”

 

“You’re too much like him,” Youou spat, his face a distinct shade of red, “And stop smiling.”

 

“That’s not a nice thing to say.”

 

“That guy… he’d smile all the time,” Youou said, tracing his fingers along the dirt floor of the cave.  “I could always tell when he was just smiling to make others worry less. So… Shut up!  Don’t smile if you’re not happy, you big idiot.”

 

The smile slipped off Fay’s face. 

 

“Youou-kun is very observant.”

 

“Whatever.”

 

Fay decided it was time to steer the subject away from him.  “Why are you travelling to be stronger?”

 

Youou’s eyes dimmed, but reflected the last rays of sunlight brightly.  It was a strange juxtaposition.  Fay watched his shoulders stiffen slightly and he inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring and his fists clenching.

 

“So that I can grow strong and protect… the people I care about,” he said in barely a whisper, so quiet that his words were almost lost to Fay by the popping of the fire at their backs.  He chewed on the inside of his cheek and grunted, as if admitting such a thing was a weakness.  “I couldn’t… before.”

 

Fay didn’t press the subject.  He hoped that what had befallen the Kurogane he knew was not the same for Youou.  He did not know Kurogane’s past—only vague hints.  But to have come into Tomoyo-hime’s care, Fay knew that something must have happened to his parents.  And it seemed that this Youou was no different. 

 

“So, why are you staying in this cave?”

 

“I don’t usually stay in places for long.  I move around a lot.”

 

He didn’t speak it, but it was implied.  He was staying for him, waiting until his companions found him again.  Fay tried to make himself hate Youou, but he just couldn’t.  Not when he was looking off towards the horizon the way he was now, his expression strangely soft yet determined.  Fay didn’t want to know exactly what he was thinking about.

 

“You don’t have to stay here on account of me.”

 

“And idiot like you could get attacked by a wild animal,” Youou groused out, the soft expression evaporating instantly, his eyebrows knitting together.  “It doesn’t matter.  The river here is good for fishing.”  He gave him a look that was far too knowing, as if to say <i>but I know you don’t eat so you wouldn’t care anyway.</I>

 

“Youou-kun shouldn’t worry about me so much.”

 

To his surprise, the young man laughed.  His smile was tiny, but sincere, managing to look both touchingly sweet and incredibly heartbreaking at the same time.

 

“That kid used to say that all the time, too,” he said at last, when he couldn’t ignore Fay’ s vaguely surprised expression.

 

“… What was that kid’s name?”  Fay was almost afraid to hear the answer.  He had a feeling that he knew already.

 

Youou sighed and stood up, moving back towards the fire and throwing another log on top of the glowing embers.  The sun was gone now, so Fay stood up and followed him.  Youou made steady work of bringing the fire up to a blazing arch, casting warm light across the walls of the cave.  The shadows wavered on Youou’s face as he worked, his expression hard.

 

Youou fiddled with the fish he was cooking over the fire.  He’d been here long enough that the boy knew he didn’t need to feed Fay.  Fay wasn’t sure what the boy made of that fact, what he thought about when he realized that Fay was, once again, not eating.  He never brought it up.  It was another thing that mirrored the Kurogane he knew—he only spoke when he had something to say, and didn’t waste time on things.

 

“… Yuui,” he said at last, and Fay saw the expression again.  A strange, faraway expression.  He’d never seen it on his Kurogane’s face, and it seemed strange, yet strangely natural, to see it there.  His red eyes dimmed slightly and his expression softened as he spoke that one word.  Fay felt something squeeze in his chest again and hated himself for it.  It didn’t take an idiot to realize how much this ‘Yuui’ must have meant to this ‘Youou.’

 

“He was your friend, wasn’t he?”

 

Youou must have found the fire completely fascinating because he didn’t turn his face away from it.  Slowly, he nodded, once.  Brisk and undeniable.  He sighed once and ran his hand over his face, not saying anything.  But Fay knew Kurogane all too well—he knew that words were coming, but he was trying his hardest to collect them, first.

 

“… He was always around,” he said finally.  His face was bright red.  He would have blamed it on a trick of the light.  “He was a pain in the ass, but… ya know…”

 

Fay did know.  He knew how Kurogane spoke.  He knew what the significance of that was.  Yuui must have been his first, or only, friend at the time. 

 

“He was an orphan from some foreign place,” Youou muttered, “he never talked about it.  Mother looked after him and helped him try to learn magic.”

 

The blue in Fay’s eye sparkled in the firelight.  Youou either didn’t notice or didn’t comment.

 

“He had a brother,” Youou muttered.  “A brother who was left behind.  I guess he left so he could find him. He…”

 

“He…?”

 

“He left after he attacked Mother,” Youou muttered.  “He was stronger than her, but that idiot was too kind for his own good.  He didn’t mean to, but he just… after that I didn’t see him again.”

 

“Do you miss him, Youou-kun?”

 

“S-shut up,” he muttered to his feet.  Fay sighed.

 

“I’m sure he felt the same way,” Fay said quietly.   If the way Youou looked when he talked about him was any indication, he was sure that somehow, the Yuui of this world understood.  Perhaps that was why he ran away—attacking his mother, searching for his brother, and avoiding the heart that reached out for him. 

 

Youou looked at him, red eyes inquisitive and far too knowing.  Fay glanced at the fire before looking back at him.  The young man brushed his hands over his knees, knocking off some stray dirt.  Then he spoke.  “You know… someone like me, right?”

 

“I do.”

 

“And I know someone like you.”

 

“So you’ve said.”

 

“…Then,” Youou said after a thoughtful pause, “You know another me and I know another you, don’t we?”

 

Fay sighed.  “In any world, you’re just as observant.”

 

“It’s not that hard to figure out,” Youou muttered.

 

“Ah, of course not.”

 

“So even in another world, we manage to be friends…”

 

Fay sighed, and his eyebrows arched slightly.  “We’re not friends…”

 

“You’re not?” Youou looked genuinely surprised.

 

“No,” Fay said softly.  “We never had the chance to become friends.”

 

“What are you, then?”

 

Fay thought, trying to pinpoint the correct word.  Traveling companions seemed too distant, but friends was too close.  “We’re just… we just are, Youou-kun.  Kurogane and I… we just are.”

 

 

\---

 

 

“So,” Youou asked, his back turned, as the blond sat with his feet in the water of the river.  Youou was busy preparing his spear for the fish he was to catch for his breakfast.  Fay accompanied him today.  “The one you know is named Kurogane.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“… That name,” Youou said, but paused as he lunged forward, spearing the water.  He pulled back, a fish still wriggling on the pole.  Youou grabbed the fish and bit along the top, ripping out the fish’s spine to bring it to death quickly.  .

 

“What about it?” Fay asked lightly, ignoring the sight.

 

“It’s not his real name,” Youou said at last, refusing to look up from the dead fish in his hand.

 

“How do you know that, Youou-kun?” Fay asked quietly.

 

“Because I took that name,” the boy said, turning towards Fay, his expression hard.   “It was Father’s before.  But I took it.”

 

“But you told me your name was Youou.”

 

“It was… it is,” the boy said.  “But after… I lost the right to wield this name.  I took Father’s so that…”

 

“So your name is Kurogane, too,” Fay said.   “Why tell me your real name, then?”

 

“Because…” the young man muttered, staring moodily down at the fish in his hands.  Fay raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything.  Youou cleared his throat and said, “I thought… when you first got here I thought that…”

 

“You thought I was Yuui?” Fay whispered.

 

“I guess… you’re too old to be him, though.”  Youou waded back to shore, shaking his bare feet once he was back on land, kicking stray droplets of water back towards the river. 

 

“I am much older than I look,” Fay agreed.  

 

“That guy left before I took Father’s name, so…”

 

“I see.”  Fay studied the sky, watching the white clouds loll by idly across the long expanse of sky.  He wasn’t sure if he would ever see his companions again in this lifetime.  Who knew when they’d arrive again?  Or where, for that matter?  He shook his head and looked back at the boy beside him. “Should I be calling you Youou or Kurogane, then?”

 

“I don’t care.”

 

“Well I’ve grown used to Youou-kun,” Fay decided after a thoughtful pause.

 

“Hn.”

 

 

\---

 

 

“You’ve been here three weeks and you haven’t eaten once,” Youou said one day, glaring down at Fay.  Fay looked up from his position on the floor.  “I wasn’t gonna say anything but if…”

 

“Youou-kun shouldn’t worry about it,” Fay said lightly, laughing. 

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

“No.”

 

“You’re lying,” Youou said firmly.

 

Fay laughed.  “You really are too observant.”

 

“Eat if you’re hungry, idiot.”

 

“There is nothing in this world that I can eat,” Fay said lightly.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because there is only one thing I can eat,” the mage said very quietly, but his words were deadly.  “I’ll have to wait for Kurogane to come here.”

 

In any other situation, Fay would have found the boy’s expression amusing. 

 

“I need Kurogane’s blood,” Fay said at last.

 

“Blood…” Youou said, his eyes widened in surprise. “You’re a…”

 

“So they have tales of vampires in this world, too, huh?” Fay shrugged one shoulder.

 

“They’re not real,” Youou muttered.  “Why can you only…?”

 

“I can only have Kurogane’s blood, because he’s the one responsible for keeping me alive.  I can’t have anyone else’s.”

 

Youou was silent for a long moment, just staring at the blond, his red eyes calculating and far too understanding.  He shifted and the fire cast a strange shadow over half his face.  Fay watched him curiously, not saying anything, wondering what it was that was running through his head as he stood there over the mage—the vampire. 

 

“We have the same soul,” Youou said at last.  “Would my blood work?”

 

“Don’t be silly,” Fay said, though he wasn’t sure.  “I’m bound to my Ku—the Kurogane that I know.  He can’t have anyone else’s, even if it is another version of the Kurogane who is bound to me.  You don’t need to worry over me, Youou-kun.  If I die here, then they’ll have to carry on without me.”

 

Youou’s face darkened and he stalked up to the man and knelt down, so that their faces were level.  “Don’t,” he hissed out, “be a fucking idiot.  Don’t just… be so resigned to dying without doing anything about it.  I hate that.”

 

Fay smiled.  “I know.”

 

Youou straightened and retreated to the other side of the wall where he grabbed his sword firmly.  He stalked back towards Fay, and the blond watched him silently.

 

“Youou-kun…”

 

“Shut up, even if it doesn’t work I’m not going to stand here and not do anything and let you die,” Youou snapped.  “That guy that you know would be angry at me, once he comes here.”  And then he cut his wrist.  The coppery scent of blood filled the air and Fay stiffened, the sky blue of his eye melting away into a menacing golden color.  Youou walked over towards him and knelt, thrusting his wrist towards Fay’s mouth. 

 

Fay stared at him, the gold of his eye the only menacing and demonic looking feature of his face.  Slowly he lifted his hands and touched Youou’s arm, pulling it towards him.  Youou didn’t say anything, though his face was furrowed in his anger and—something else that Fay kindly chose to ignore.  He pressed his mouth against the cut on his wrist, taking in the blood.

 

He realized how hungry he was, but he stopped himself from taking too much from the boy.  Once he’d had enough to sedate the young man, Youou jerked his hand back and stared at the cut questionably.  Then he stood, replaced his sword where it belonged, and sat down by the fire, looking away from him.

 

That night Fay left the cave so he could vomit the blood out of him.  He couldn’t handle the blood.  Even if the boy in the cave was Kurogane in this world, he was not the Kurogane he needed.  He was not the Kurogane to whom he was bound forever.

 

 

\---

 

 

The natural magic of the world pulsed.  Fay looked up suddenly from his position on the ground.  Sometime during the night Youou had thrown the only blanket over Fay.  He almost hated the boy for it.  He stood up and threw the blanket haphazardly on top of the sleeping Youou, crouched against the wall, hand curled around his sword protectively.

 

And then he ran. 

 

He followed the pulse of the magic in time to see the sky drop down, as if suddenly turned to liquid.  He arrived into a small meadow quickly enough to watch Kurogane drop down from the sky.  He landed on his feet, crouched down and his eyes narrowed.  Fay watched as the ninja stood and caught Mokona before she could hit the ground.  Syaoran and Sakura landed behind him, looking around the clearing questionably. 

 

“Everyone,” Fay greeted as he left the safety of the surrounding forest, heading over towards them.

 

“Fay-san,” Sakura greeted, moving forward to meet him halfway.  She smiled, grabbing his hands.  That smile was painful to look at.  Syaoran and Kurogane followed behind her.

 

“You landed here before us?” Kurogane asked curtly.

 

Fay smiled thinly at him.  “I’ve been here for almost a month.”

 

“A month?” Mokona exclaimed.  “Mokona is sorry that Fay somehow got outside Mokona’s magic.”

 

“It’s alright,” Fay said quietly, patting her on top of the head.  “I’ve been okay.”

 

Kurogane and Syaoran tensed at the same moment, their eyes trained on the forest behind Fay.  Fay blinked and looked behind him in time to pick up the sound of footsteps.  He had no time to warn his companions of what was coming, as Youou broke out through the line of trees, his sword drawn out and his eyes narrowed.

 

“I—!” and then he stopped as his eyes locked on Kurogane. 

 

Kurogane’s eyes were wide, too.  Syaoran and Sakura and Mokona all looked equally as shocked.  Syaoran instantly recognized the boy from the book of memories his other self had looked in so long ago. Youou looked between Fay and his companions before lowering his sword and slipping it back into its sheath.

 

“Your traveling companions,” he said, eyes still on Kurogane.

 

“That’s right, Youou-kun,” Fay said cheerfully and didn’t miss the way Kurogane stiffened at the name.  He turned back towards the others, still smiling benignly.  “Youou-kun’s the one who found me when I fell into this world.  Youou-kun, this is Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan, Mokona, and Kurogane.”

 

Youou nodded absently, though he had yet to look away from Kurogane.  Finally, he forced his eyes away, and Fay didn’t miss the distant look of pain that shadowed his red eyes.

 

“Well,” Fay said, “Down to business.”

 

“Right,” Syaoran said, taking charge.  “Mokona, the feathers?”

 

Mokona frowned, squirming from her position on Kurogane’s shoulder.  “There isn’t any.”

 

“I see,” Fay said warmly.  He’d known, he hadn’t felt any of the magic that felt like Sakura’s while staying in this world.  “Then I guess we should be on our way.  Unless Youou-kun knows of any feathers he’s heard in his travels.”

 

They all looked at the boy.

 

He shook his head.  “There’s nothing like that.”

 

“Then we should continue on,” Syaoran said, calm and determined.

 

“Fay-san,” Sakura said lightly, still gripping his hands tightly.  “Are you okay?”

 

“He needs food,” Youou cut off whatever it was Fay was going to say.  His eyes were locked with Kurogane’s, solid and unwavering.  “He’s been here for too long without it.”

 

He must have heard him rejecting his blood, Fay realized dimly.

 

Kurogane nodded.

 

Youou nodded back.

 

“We should go now,” Fay said decisively.  “We can deal with that in the next world.”

 

Youou looked down, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, the other hand bawling into a fist. 

 

“Thank you for everything, Youou-kun,” Fay said quietly, taking a step towards the boy, letting go of Sakura’s hands.  “You’ll get strong for sure.”

 

“Shut up,” Youou muttered, his cheeks a vague red color.

 

Fay laughed, amused by such a facial expression.  But she sobered up, and spoke quietly, “You’ll find him someday.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“I just have a feeling,” Fay said quietly.  “When you find him, maybe you’ll be able to knock some sense into him.  Maybe you’ll be able to help him.”

 

“Tch.”

 

“Just keep going,” Fay reassured with a wave of his hand.  “His name might be Fay now, though.”

 

Youou nodded.

 

Fay could feel the eyes of his companions on his back, but he didn’t turn around.  He focused on the young man standing before him, too much like Kurogane for comfort, but feeling an affection for him despite himself and his assurances that he should hate this boy.  Youou nodded just the tiniest bit again, before raising his face and staring straight at Fay, his keen red eyes once again understanding far too much.

 

“You really are like him,” he said.  “Don’t run away.”

 

Fay laughed.  “What makes you think I’m running away?”

 

Youou didn’t say anything, but his eyes spoke for him.  Fay sighed.

 

He took a step back and stood among his companions.  Mokona jumped into the air, summoning up the magic required to transport them to the next world.  The wind whipped back Youou’s fringe.  His eyes shifted and met with Kurogane’s.  They didn’t say anything, but it seemed a world of understanding past between them, and Youou nodded, taking a step back.

 

“That kid,” Kurogane said behind Fay as the magic began to work.

 

Fay glanced at Kurogane over his shoulder, smiling.  “He’s a good kid.”

 

“What did…?”

 

“Let’s hurry to the next world,” Fay cut him off, turning around.  “I’m hungry.”

 

The world melted away, and they disappeared.  Youou was left alone, watching the sky where they’d disappeared.  He sighed lightly, and the stood there until the birds deemed it safe enough to sing again.  He turned back towards the cave, where he collected his meager belongings and set out again, heading towards a distant place, searching.

 

He had things he needed to do.  And he knew he’d succeed.

 

“Idiot,” he scoffed to himself, but didn’t look back.


End file.
